TiVo has finally decided to show some love to Android users with its TiVo app for Android tablets. Now you can do just about everything you can do with your TiVo remote control — find and explore shows, schedule recordings, control live TV and recorded shows, and more — from your Android tablet! Chances are, when you have got some TV shows off of TiVo stored on your PC and wanna transfer the recorded TiVo shows to Android-based tablet or phone, only to find these TiVo files are not so easy to play back. The article below will guide your through how to transfer TiVo shows to Android devices for enjoying with ease.

Part I: Transfer TV shows from TiVo to PC

It takes a while depending on length of TV program you are transferring. Make sure your TiVo and computer are in the same home network, and follow this guide to proceed TiVo file transfer:

1. On your PC, launch TiVo Desktop for PC, the freeware that transfers shows from your networked TiVo box to your computer.

2. Click "Pick Recordings to Transfer." A window showing your TiVo box's "Now Playing" or "My Shows" list appears.

3. Highlight any title in the list to see more information about the show. Check the box next to the title of the show (or shows) you want to transfer.

4. Click "Start Transfer." Transfer times vary, but may take as long as the show’s duration to complete the transfer.

Part II: Convert TiVo shows to Android friendly MP4 video

Since the transferred TV shows are saved as .tivo files that cannot be supported by the Android based devices, you’d better encode TiVo to Android friendly video e.g. MP4 with a professional TiVo converter. Brorsoft Video Converter will be your best choice.

Overall, it does a great job reducing the file size while maintaining sufficient video quality – you can hardly notice the difference between the source and output files. Moreover, the TiVo Video Converter features various format templates for you to convert TiVo to MP4 video that suit best for your Android device. Supported Android tablets include Samsung Galaxy Tablets(7.0/10.1), Kindle Fire HD, Xoom, Iconia Tab, Transformer Prime, Nook tablets, Nexus 7/10, etc to meet users different needs. If you are Mac users, please turn to Mac Video Converter. Just download and install the Tivo app for Android and start the TiVo to Android conversion.

Step 1: Enter TiVo Media Access Key

Launch the TiVo to Android Converter and press "Option" button. Switch to "TiVo" tab in Option window, and enter TiVo Media Access Key.

Tip: How to find your Media Access Key on TiVo: Go to “TiVo Central” menu >> “Messages and Set Up” “Account and System Information”, and your Media Access Key would be there.

Step 2: Add TiVo video files

Click the Add button Import TiVo shows to the TiVo convert tool for converting. You can check the “Merge into one” box to join some TiVo files together.

Step 3: Select output format

Click “Format” and select an output profile for your Android device. Basically the Common Video >> H.264 Video (*.mp4) is a universal format for Android tablets and smartphones. Plus, there are optimized presets for Samsung, Motorola, Acer, Asus, Sony, Toshiba, HTC, etc branded Android devices; choose a proper one as you need. Or depends on your device, you can choose a suitable video format from "Android" catalogue.

Tip: Profile Settings (Optional)

The default settings may not satisfy you, and you can click the settings button to change the settings by yourself including video resolution, bit rate, audio sample rate, audio channel etc. for full screen playback smoothly or select the corresponding device as the output format.

Step 4: Start the conversion

Press “Convert” button to begin encoding TiVo shows to Android tablet or phone. After conversion completes you can click “Open” to find converted and copy TV shows to your Android tablet or smartphone for carrying along with.

Related guides:

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Play VOB on Android
Play MKV on Android
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Play AVI on Android